Drying apparatus for coffee beans or the like, comprising a movable agitator and gas circulating means



Oct. 19, 1948. A. R. YGLESlAS-PAZ 2,451,462

DRYING APPARATUS FOR COFFEE BEANS OR THE LIKE COMPRISING A MOVABLE AGITATOR AND GAS CIRCULATING MEANS Filed April 21, 1944 I 5 sheets- -sheet 1 1948- A. R. YGLESlAS-PAZ DRYING APPARATUS FOR COFFEE BEANS OR THE LIKE COMPRISING A MOVABLE AGITATOR AND GAS CIRCULATING MEANS Filed April 21, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 00000 000 000000000 oooooooooooooooo ooooooooo ooooOoOo eoooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooo 0000 ooocoooooooo ooooooooooooooo oooooooooo oooooo ov ooo 000000 ooooooo 00 O00 O00 O00 O00 O00 000 Elma/M 1 Oct. 19, 1948. YGLES|AS-PAZ 2,451,462

DRYING APPARATUS FOR COFFEE BEANS OR THE LIKE COMPRISING A MOVABLE AGITATOR AND GAS CIRCULATING MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 21, 1944 Patented Oct. 19, 1948 DRYING APPARATUS FOR COFFEE BEANS OR. THE LIKE, COMPRISING A MOVABLE AGITATOR AND GAS CIRCULATING MEANS Adolfo Raul Yglesias-Paz, Guatemala City, Guatemala Application April 21, 1944, Serial No. 532,077

2 Claims.

This invention relates to drying apparatus for coffee beans or the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a drying apparatus which includes a stationary receptacle wherein the cofiee is positioned, the receptacle having a perforate bottom whereby heated air may be discharged into the lower portion of the receptacle and the apparatus also including means whereby the coffee beans are continually turned over or agitated as they are being dried.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a device of this kind, means whereby the coffee beans are agitated through the medium of a rotating drum, and the beans are also subjected to further agitation by means of agitating blades which rotate about the receptacle as the drum rotates within and about the receptacle.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a device of this kind an improved means for circulating the heated air through the beams so that there will be an even temperature directed on to the beans in all parts of the receptacle.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a device of this kind an improved agitating drum which is formed with a fluted or channeled periphery, the drum rotating about a horizontal axis in a direction reverse from the rotation or swinging of the drum about a vertical axis.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of this kind which includes an improved means for carrying off the moisture-laden air which rises from the coffee beans above the perforate wall of the receptacle, so that the beans will dry more quickly than with apparatus heretofore available.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several ignates generally a receptacle which is formed of an inverted conical lower housing ll, having extending from the upper or large end thereof a cylindrical wall l2. The lower housing H forms an air chamber l3, within which heated air is discharged as will be hereinafter described.

The receptacle or housing Ill is supported from a centrally disposed tubular member M, which rises from a base l5. The tubular supporting member l4 extends centrally and upwardly into the housing II. and terminates at its upper end at substantially the upper edge of the cylindrical portion l2. The cylindrical portion l2 defines an upper coffee bean chamber l6 within which the coffee beans are adapted to be positioned.

A boiler or air heating member I! is disposed laterally of the housing structure l0, and is provided with a hot air duct or pipe I8, which extends from the heater I1 and is connected to a nipple l9 communicating with the lower portion of the tubular supporting member Ill. The supporting member I4 constitutes a central air duct so that the hot air discharged from the pipe or duct l 8 may be conducted to the hot air chamber l3. The duct or tubular member l4, at a point within the chamber I3 is formed with a plurality of openings 20 which are circumferentially spaced apart and communicate the interior of the duct [4 with the interior of the chamber l3.

A stationary conical deflector 2| is secured to the tubular member l'4 within the chamber l3 at a point above the openings 20, so that the hot air discharged from the duct [4 will be deflected outwardly and downwardly into the lower portion of the chamber l3, and from this lower portion of the chamber l3, the air passes upwardly toward the outer portion of the chamber l3.

A blower 22, is disposed exteriorly of the housing l0 and has an intake duct or pipe 23 connected to the intake side thereof, the duct or pipe '23 being also connected to a vertical pipe 24 which is loosely positioned about a vertical stack 25 forming the draft for the heater H. The outlet side of the blower 22 is connected to one end of an air conducting pipe 26, which is connected to an air heating chamber 21 formed about the boiler or heater H.

The pipe or duct l8 is connected to the outlet side of the chamber 21, so that the air heated by the heater I! will be forcibly moved through the pipe l8, this air being initially preheated by the stack 25.

The housing l0 has fixedly mounted therein, in the lower portion of the chamber IS a perforate wall or disc 28. The perforate wall 28 divides the two chambers l3 and I6, and the openings in the wall 28 are slightly smaller than the beans, so that the beans will not drop through the openings or perforations in the wall 28.

The wall 28 is provided with an opening 29 adjacent the outer margin thereof, and a pivoted closure' fifl which is connected to: a shaftfll is adapted to'be selectively moved "from ahorizontal closed position to a vertical or inclined open position by rocking of a handle 32 so as to provide for the discharge of the dried coffieebeans from the chamber I6 into thelow-erachamber' l3;

A guide or deflector blade'33fis' mounted on the inside of the chamber l3, and is inclined in the direction of an outlet or discharge opening 34 positioned adjacent the apex of the lower housing H. A discharge nipple 35.:isa-secured 'to;the lower portion of the housing H, and extends downwardly and laterally from the opening-'34; The nipple 35 is formed with a lower outer verticai e dge,= and a closure plate 3.6 mounted on; a hinge or pivot. structure fl is constantly' urged -'to-'- closed position by- 'means of a weight 58 which is .adjustablymounted on a depending and lat'eral-ly inclined' rod The weight 58 gravitatir xg'lymaintains' the closure 56 in; a closed -pdsition';-so that during the*drying cycle, the -'heated --air*in-the chamber 3 will-* not exhaust from the-nipple35;

' In order to provide -for -theagitation or "turn-- ing overof 'the cclitee beans within the chamber 1 G;"I -have=provided" an agitating drum, generally designated as 40. The drum 4!) includes a cylindrical body 4| which has mounted on the outer suria'ce'thereof; a-'-plurali-tyof channeled ciicumf erentially spaced apart-1 pocket forming members' iz The-drum 4G-isrotatably mounted on asha'it 45, which is" disposed in ahorizontal position and "is j ournaled at'the inner end thereof in at" bearing; 44. 7

- Theshaft43 at its'inner endhas secured thereto a beveled-gear 45wlrich 'mesheswith-a beveled gear' idm'ounted orra'verh'cal shaft' 41: The shaft fl is j'ournale'd" atitsupper portion in a bearing 123 mountedwithinthe' tubular 'mem-- .berl i'; andiextends" axially and downwardly "with themember" 1 '4; The 'lower portion ofithe shaft -41"is"journaled"in a lowerbearing .419; and a collar 56* is: secured to the shaft 41""an'd' bears against the upperside ofthetbearing. 4'9. The bearings '48. and 49" close 'thetubular member" 14, sothat the hot air from duct 1'8 can only be discharged intcr chamber l3- from openingsiZflL l The "lower end of the shaft AItha's .secured'thereto; a

iower'beveled' gear'5rwhich'me'shes with a pinion or'driving gear-*Mimountedmi a diiVihgjShaft 5J3. Theshaft 53. eXten'dsi from a transmission. 54 which is'conne'cted with a'driving pulley or -ele- 'mentf' 55; 'It will be understoodthat the. pulley or. driving element 55' may be operated ifrom a motor, internal combustion engineiorv other suit ablepower device;

The drum shaft 43le'xtends entirely through 'theidrum 410, and. at its outer end. has. mounted Ithereoma smalLspui; geanBBZWhich meshes with 'a ring gearET. "The ring; gear 51 is mounted on. an annular suppo'rtinglbracket 58 which is secured to the outerside otithe-cylindricalmember 12 at a point. slightly below the upper end o'i'the.latter,,and the rotation of the'drum shaft 4'3 will provide for the rotation of the drum 40' in a horizontal plane about theaxisofthe shaft 471 Preferably; the drum 49"operates in a direc tionabout the-shaft 4 3" reversely 'fromthe swinging or horizontal rotation ofthesha'ft 43 about the axis of the shaft 41. This is accomplished by means of intermehsing gearing 59, 60, and 6|. The gearing 59 is secured to the shaft 43 and the intermediate gear 60 may be supported in any suitable manner so that the rotation of the drum driving gear 59 will provide for the reserve rotaitiorr ofthe drum 40. aAsflshownrim-Figure 3, the drum ill rotates' in a clockwise-direction", whereas the drum also swings about the axis of the shaft 4 in a counter-clockwise direction. Gear 60 --.may-be-.supported in any suitable manner, such v(as by-astub-shafti carried by plate 68.

A- scra=per or 71310371 blade 62 is disposed on the rear or trailing side of the drum 40, being sup- =ported on asupporting bar 63 which is secured to a beam 64. The beam 64 is fixedly secured =tostheebearinga'stmcture 44 and extends at right angles with respect to the drum shaft 43. The scraper of plow blade 62 is disposed in a position to substantially contact with the upper side of rth'eswall" 28; so thatrthelcoffee rbeanstwill be pushed forwardly by the forwardi side of ithe plow orr scraper. 5'2; and} at the same stir-nee as:':the beans gatheron1: the: forward side :of: the: blade" '62; :the -beanzlifiiinga members 42 t'rotatezdownwardly; for:- vwardiygand: upwardly; 150 1 as-vt'o pick up the gathered; beans and drop: such: beans on the-straining side otsftheadrumzm V 3: There: :is also providedixa- -defiector plate -55, whichri's positioned .re'arwardly; of "and upwardly respect to: the-*- plow; or: scraper 'blade -GL The? deflector: or guide 6'5 i's mounted on a supporting bar- S'ibwhichis; also s'eou're'd to *the sup oprting beam 6'4. Th-ef deflector member' is inclined downwardly and rearwardly'with Y re spect to =the drum llliarid isinclinedirra direction oppositefrom the plow or 'scraper bladd'fi-z"; The deflector" blade 65 is adapted to receive *the beans which -are discharged from the cup 'shaped or channel member 12-; so 1 as to prevent-the beans frem beingwarried around with the "drum and so that' the beans will bedi'scha-rgedorrthe rear side ofi the drum irr an even layer;i=the layerhaving-been overturned through the medium ofthe plow Biand thelifting m-embers 42.

A shield or housing or substantially {ls-shap which opens downwardly and designated byth'e numeral 67 is secured to a vertically disposed "plate 6 8--wh-ich=is fsecuredto an outer bearing? 69 for the-shaft- 43? and the shield or guaitdfil en'- gages about theouter'end'of tlcie sha ft 4'51 and: the pi'nion 562 K hand wheel "ID" is: secured" tothe *ou-ter end of the'drum'shaft'the 'shield BIfbeing removable'--so'- that-if desired, :the drum 40 may be selectively rotated by hand.

The coffeeb'eansi are aiso 'furth'er agitated or I stirred as the dium rotat'esand swings within the 'chamber lfi, by'ineans' ot a; plurality of agitating blades H. The biases! l'areeach mounted on a vertically disposed'shank 'lrwlii'ch is securedby =U -shaped' fasteningmembe'rs "13 to a supporting beam 14. The supporting beam .14 may-Jive formed 'integral with theme-am" 54*:and isinclined at-anobtuse angle tothe beam 64? The outer end of the supporting; beam 54 hasjsecured thereto a "stub shaft" 15" on whi'clrfa'f roller 16" is mounted. The roller 15"engage's the" upper edge ofjthe eylin drical member "I2;'"and" positioned jabovei. the rack or -annular4 gear"51. The lag'itatinggblades H; as showninTigureZj are formed'on a reverse curvature, and, as shown in Figure 4; are inclined to the? horizontal," being'inclihed. forwardly and 'downwardiy from the-"rear ends thereof, i"The agitating blades 1 I are positioned at any'suitable 'distanceabovetheperfforatewali 28, so'th'atthey .5 will not contact with the wall, but are close enough thereto in order to provide for the shifting of the beans from the outer portion of the chamber I6 toward the center thereof.

The blades 12 are spaced apart from each other so that the coffee beans may pass between pairs of adjacent blades from the leading to the trailing edges thereof, and will not be entirely moved toward the center of the chamber I6. A longitudinally curved blade I! is secured at one end to the trailing end of the innermost blade H and is secured at the opposite end thereof to the bar 64, adjacent the bearing structure 44. A counterbalancing weight 78 is mounted on a horizontally disposed bar 19 which extends from the supporting bar 94 opposite from the agitating structure including the blades ll and the supporting bar 14. The counterweight "t8 may be adjusted at any point along the length of the supporting bar 19 so as to provide for equalizing the weight of the plow structure with respect to the supporting bearing 44.

In order to provide for the circulation of currents of air over the surface of the mass of beans within the chamber It, and while the beans are in agitation, whereby the moisture laden air arising from the beans is driven off and the drying of the beans is accelerated, I provide a fan blade structure, generally designated by the numeral 89. This fan blade structure includes a plurality of radical supporting bars 82 extending from a central hub 83 that is secured to a central shaft 84. Secured to the supporting bars 82 are blades BI and 99. The blades BI and 99 are so pitched with respect to each other that the series of blades 81 cause a circulation of air in one direction and the blades 9| cause a circulation of air in an opposite direction so that as the fan blade structure revolves there is produced over the surface of the coffee grains a flow of air that serves to drive off the moist air as the latter passes upwardly through the mass of beans. In this manner the drying of the beans is accelerated and is substantially uniform throughout the mass.

The aforementioned shaft 84 is connected with a conventional clutch structure 85 operated by means of a fork lever 86. A clutch operating rod 81 is connected with the fork lever 86 by means of a connecting link 88. Shaft 84, as shown, is journaled through a pair of spaced apart plates 89 and 90, which are secured to a horizontally disposed supporting structure 9!.

The supporting structure 9| is in the form of a pair of inner horizontal beams which are secured to right angularly disposed supporting beams 92. The beams 92 are secured to outer beams 93 and the entire structure including the beams 9|, 92, and 93 constitute a supporting frame above the housing I and supported in any suitable manner thereabove. A small gear or pinion 94 is fixed to the shaft 84 between the plates 89 and 99, and meshes with a large driving gear 95 which is mounted on the upper end of a fan shaft 96. The fan shaft 96 has a beveled gear 91 at the lower end thereof extending through a bearing 98, forming part of the bearing structure 44 and the gear 9! meshes with the gear 45. The shaft 95 is adapted to rotate the fan blade structure 80 in a counter-clockwise direction.

In the use and operation of this drying apparatus, the coffee beans are discharged into the chamber [6, and may initially be smoothed into a substantially even layer on the perforate wall 28. The blower 22 will force air which is heated by the heater ll into the central duct l4 and the '6 heated air will be discharged into the chamber l3 through the openings 20. The deflector2l will spread this air outwardly toward'the inverted base of the housing H, and the heated air will then be forced upwardly through the perforate Wall 28 into contact with the beans B which are positioned on the wall 28.

Simultaneously with the forcing of the heated air through the layer of beans B, the drum 40 is rotated around the horizontal shaft 43 by means of the shaft 91. The drum &9 will rotate in a manner to pick up the beans as the drum agitates around the layer of beans, and the plow 92 will provide for complete turnover or lifting of the beans from the wall 28.

As the drum 49 rotates and guides the beans thereabout, the beans are discharged on to the shield or deflector 65, which is positioned rearwardly of the plow or scraper 62. The deflector will act as a leveling means to form an even layer of the beans on the rear side of'the drum 40. In addition to the complete lifting and turning over of the beans by rotation of the drum 40 on the horizontal shaft 43 which swings about the central axis of the shaft 41, the agitating or stirring blades II will laterally agitate the beans and will provide for the shifting of the beans from the outer margin of the chamber I6 toward the central portion thereof.

After the beans have been agitated for a sufficient length of time to provide for the complete drying thereof, the gat or closure 39 may be swung to an open position and the beans will be discharged simultaneously as they are being agitated, the beans dropping into the air chamber I3 and flowing downwardly over the guide 33 and finally discharging out of the discharge nipple 35, the closure 36 at this time being lifted to permit the beans to be discharged into bags or other suitable containers.

The closure 30 may be pivoted at one edge thereof, such as the left edge as viewed in Fig. 2, the handle 32 being connected to the closure 30 through suitable means of a conventional character, such as a cam or lever which will lower closure 30 at the right edge and permit the beans to roll down closure 30 into chamber 13. Rotation of drum 40 tends to shift the beans to the outer portion of chamber I6, and as drum 40 discharges the beans to the rear thereof, when closure 30 is open the beans between drum 40 and the blades H will drop through opening 29.

What is claimed is:

1. A bean drier comprising an upper bean chamber, a lower air chamber, a perforate partition wall common to said chambers, means 0peratively connected with the air chamber for forcing hot air upwardly therethrough and through the mass of beans in the bean chamber, a driven fan disposed above the bean chamber for producing a flow of air over the entire surface of the mass of beans for drawing off moist air arising therefrom, and means interposed between the perforate wall and the fan means for agitating the beans while subject to the action of the hot air and the air circulation produced shifting the' beans :towardithe centenof the bean chamber.

-.2. A bean drier comprising: anxupper bean chamber, a lower air -.chamber,,a;perorate partition wall common to saidIchamberslandproviding a rest for a masszof beansuwithinisaiihean chamber, hot airv deliverymeans operativelyconnected with the air chamber for forcingahot .air upwardly therethrough and through :the :mass

of beans, beaneagitatingameans.within. the .bean chamber including a drum simultaneously rotatone side :of the .drum and deposit the beans. ;at.;t-he oppositeside thereof, and. a-gang x.of agitating blades trailing thezdrum in its": moyementi. about :the; vertical axis for shifting ;the beans toward the center of said chamb.er,.;and:;az driiten-ian .means disposed. above the beanzagitatingzmeans and embodying two series of; blades; one,o fwhich .is adapted and arrangedto cause anircul'ationof air :over. the :surface .of. the. mass: nf-beanszin one direction and :the: other of which is:.adapted:and

arranged to cause a circulationmf-ain over-the surface of. the mass of beans; in an :opnosit-eadie rection.

A; RAULYGLESIAS+PAZ 30 :8 REFERENCES .cI'rEii;

"The following references are of record'in the file of"this patent:

UN ICE-ED STATES PATENTS? Number Name Date 42,333 Mey fl Apr. '12, 1864 76,508 Oefinger et a1. Apr. 7, 1868 209,794: Beaven Nov. 12, 1828 246,616 Kimplen Sept; 6,- 1881 v 283,723 Renner -et' a1. Aug.-21, 1883 322,252 Bunnell' July 14, 1885 5 410,085 Gent -1 Augi27," 1-8-89 832,874 McElroy Oct. 9, 1906 "1,020,256 3011 Mar. '12, 1912 1,213,962 Siler Jan. 30; 1917 1,231,594 Fullard July 3-, 191'] "1,433,608 Fleury Oct. 31, 1922 1 1,460,519 Wadsworth Ju1y 3, 1923 1,672,272" Moore June 5, 1928 1,744,884 Greiner J an. 28, 1930 1,770,409 Kehoe July 15; 11330 2,064,581 Wilson Dec. 15, 1936 2,101,502 Keller Dec. 7; 1937 2,142,568 Lowry 1 Jan. 3, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 776,418 France -Jan, 25,1935 

